


Garrison Shenanigans

by YunHo_1819



Series: Garrison Shenanigans [10]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cat Puns, Cats, Developing Friendships, Family, Food, Friendship, Fun, Galaxy Garrison, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Matt Holt & Shiro Friendship, Matt Holt is a Good Sibling, Matt Holt-centric, Military, Mischief, Pre-Canon, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28693755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YunHo_1819/pseuds/YunHo_1819
Summary: Keith's brows furrowed in worry. “Are you okay? You look tired.”“Mmph,” Matt slumped his head on the mirror, raising a finger. “The question is, how are you not tired after drills?”“What drills?”Hang on.Matt’s eyes narrowed, “You mean, you weren’t there this morning?”“Oh, you mean, that’s what the ringing in the middle of the night was for?” Keith’s face split into a smirk.Matt suppressed the urge to slam his head into the sink.A day of life in the Garrison.
Relationships: Adam & Matt Holt, Adam & Matt Holt & Shiro, Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Ina Leifsdottir, Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) & Original Character(s), Matt Holt & Keith, Matt Holt & Original Character(s), Matt Holt & Pidge | Katie Holt, Matt Holt & Shiro
Series: Garrison Shenanigans [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955206
Comments: 16
Kudos: 59





	Garrison Shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

> Whew! This is the 10th story of this series and my first work for 2021! Happy New Year!  
> I'll be marking the series as complete, but you'll never know, there might be more works to come.  
> I was so excited to post this one. As you can see, it is significantly longer than the others.
> 
> If you just want to read, you can ignore my chatter from here on:  
> So much stuff happened last week. It's not bad stuff, though. I have to play Liebestraum, but my teacher kept complaining, "No, you must play it full of romantic love and passion."  
> I can't romance. So I've been frantically reading poems and romantic fics and stuff. Still don't get it yet, the idea still makes me squirm. sksjksjkjk  
> I also had to attend a driving course for the written portion and it was all in BM (Uhh I mean Bahasa Malaysia). I can't speak BM very well, but the stuff they taught was kind of useless anyway.  
> And now we have MCO 2.0, starting Wednesday. Schools are shutting again. What was the point of that one week of physical school last week? Hhhh, I'm gonna just roll with it.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

**Monday, 4:00 am**

A whirring alarm tore Matt out of his tender sleep. He shot up, immediately hitting his head on the top bunk.

“Aurgh!” He rubbed his forehead, staring dazedly into the darkness. His roommate, Marco, let out a sound of concern.

“You alive there?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Matt mumbled. “Don’t worry about my possible concussion.”

“Well if you’re fine, we gotta go. Drills,” Marco replied briskly and left the room, leaving Matt to doze alone in his bleariness.

_ Drills? At what time? _

Another sharp ring jolted him out of his daze. Fumbling in the dark, he reached for his jacket and wrestled it on. There was no time to change. He was already running late, and he really didn’t want to face the consequences.

Drill sergeants can be sadistic sometimes.

Shooting out of his room in his pyjamas, he raced towards the courtyard, the smooth journey aided by illuminated empty corridors, which only seemed to serve his growing panic.

To his immense relief and horror, only half of his squad was there, dressed in various stages of sleepiness. He hurried into line, peeking at the sergeant out of the corner of his eye.

Sergeant Marsh was a stout woman with a permanent scowl and pursed lips. Despite being in her late twenties, various shades of grey streaked her hair. Many cadets wondered if it was dyed, but no one dared to ask.

It had only been two weeks since her arrival, yet she managed to gain the fear and respect of cadets and officers alike.

And how did she achieve that? Punishments.

She was  _ very _ creative in that aspect.

Matt watched her warily as she scanned the field with a piercing gaze.

“You are late.” Her voice resonated across the field, despite sounding quiet and collected. A shudder trickled down Matt’s spine.  _ How did she manage that? _

“I have been waiting for 20 minutes,” she continued, “If this were an actual attack, then you will all be dead.”

A few cadets bowed their head in shame, while Matt winced internally.  _ Yay punishment, here we come. _

“You squirts need more training on speed and timeliness. Therefore, I have a job for you.”

Everyone waited in bated breath.

“Run back to your dormitories, throw your shoes out of the window and fetch them, wear them, and come back. Take the stairs. Do all that in…” She checked her watch, “five minutes, starting NOW!”

_ You’ve got to be kidding me. _

There was no time to complain. Matt leapt up the stairs three at a time, thundering steps and panicked whispers of the other cadets echoing through the hallway. Five minutes was not enough. The journey alone took eight minutes, and he still needed time to find and wear the shoes after yeeting them as well.

_ Unless... _

Matt hurried to his dorm window, knotted his shoelaces together, then hurtled them out of the open window.  _ That should make them easier to find. _ Sparing no glances, he flew down the stairs.

Chest heaving, he stared at the sea of multicoloured sneakers. Thankfully, the knotted laces stood out in the mass of footwear. He grinned gleefully, slipping his shoes on and started undoing the knotted laces. Then he grimaced.

He couldn’t undo the knot.

_ Whoops. _

The knot must’ve tightened during impact with the ground.

He glanced around. The other cadets had already started running back.

_ Well then, that leaves me with no choice. _

Stumbling to his feet, Matt took a deep breath and sack-hopped his way back.

_ Shiro will never let me live this down. _

**4:30 am**

Matt swore that the sergeant looked amused. Mel, his flight team’s pilot, snickered outright as he bounced into line. Matt glared at her.  _ Shut up. _

The cadets stood apprehensively as the sergeant flitted her gaze across the scraggly rows. Her gaze lingered on Matt for a second, and he stared blankly forward, avoiding eye contact.

A few minutes passed in silence appraisal.

“Not too terrible,” the sergeant approved. Everyone heaved a silent sigh of relief.

“Now, run your drills before you head back to sleep.”

Matt almost cried.

**6:30 am**

For the second time that day, Matt was rudely awoken by the unholy sound of a ringing alarm. At least this time, it was his own. Matt rolled himself out of bed, limbs heavy as he dragged himself out of his dorm to clean up.

The toilets were already bursting with the chatter of half-awake cadets. Mumbling obscenities under his breath, Matt towed himself to a sink and pulled out his toothbrush.  _ Ugh, life. _

“Oh, hey, Matt.”

Matt whipped around to find a mop of unruly black hair behind him.

“Keith? What are you doing here?”

“Fourth-floor toilets broke.” Keith waved dismissively, bouncing on his heels. He looked way too perky. “Anyways, have you seen Melissa? She asked me to meet her for something.”

Matt blinked sleepily, too tired act wounded about the fact that Keith wasn’t here to talk to him. “Mel would probably be in her dorm. Just wait at the left hallway, she’ll be heading there sooner or later.”

“Okay, thanks,” Keith chirped, violet eyes gleaming mischievously. Then his brows furrowed in worry. “Are you okay? You look tired.”

“Mmph,” Matt slumped his head on the mirror, raising a finger. “The question is, how are  _ you _ not tired after drills?”

“What drills?”

_ Hang on. _

Matt’s eyes narrowed, “You mean, you weren’t there this morning?”

Keith shifted on his feet, humming slightly.

“Keith, look at me.” Matt blinked slowly, staring at the innocent-looking boy. “You weren’t at the 4 am drills?”

Keith’s face split into a smirk. “Oh, you mean, that’s what the ringing in the middle of the night was for?”

Matt suppressed the urge to slam his head into the sink.

_ Life was so unfair. _

**7:00 am**

Matt leaned on the wall grumpily, watching as the other cadets hustled around, searching for their respective names amongst the newly-arrived mail. For all the strict rules the Garrison set up, the higher-ups were powerless to keep parents and family members from mailing in their love. Hence, Monday became mail-day.

It was great and all, but today it was too rowdy for Matt’s fuzzy mind. Distantly, he could hear some cadet boasting about all the packages he received from his many siblings, the shrill voice piercing into his skull and aiding his growing discomfort. He scowled.

“Still bitter?” Keith taunted teasingly, stuffing a parcel into Matt’s hand.

Matt groaned, “Don’t talk to me.”

Keith merely hummed at the statement, eyes focused on his own parcel, which looked suspiciously similar to the one in Matt’s hand. “It’s from… your mom,” he said in wonder.

Matt’s eyes widened knowingly. “Open it, then.”

“You sure?”

“Well it’s addressed to you, isn’t it?”

Keith nodded hesitatingly and ripped open the paper to find… cookies. “Woah.”

Matt’s heart twinged a little at the disbelief and amazement in Keith’s voice. He ruffled the boy’s hair. “They’re all yours, buddy.”

Keith’s smile could light up several galaxies.

A few pieces of paper fell out of the leftover packaging. Keith bent to pick them up, reading the note scrawled on the card. He laughed to himself, then inspected the second paper, which appeared to be a photo.

“What’s that?” Matt peered to look as Keith swerved to hide the photo behind his back. Matt narrowed his eyes, lunging forward to snatch the paper.

It was a photo of baby Matt, sitting in the sink, wearing-

Keith yanked it back, grinning. “Give my thanks to your mom for the free blackmail.” Then he tore down the corridor at top speed before Matt could react.

**7:30 am**

Keith entered the cafeteria and sank into the far corner of the first year table, the glory of receiving blackmail, forgotten. For some reason, the Garrison insisted that breakfasts must be seated according to class and ranking. Why? No one had any idea, but they followed it anyways.

Keith didn’t care much for the rule, but the knowledge that his classmates would be sitting around him filled him with irritated dread.

_ They were so annoying. _

He scarfed down his scrambled eggs at top speed, praying to avoid the unwanted company. The sooner he was out of this musty hellhole, the better.

No such luck.

“Hey, Keith!” A tall, lanky boy with stringy brown hair flew into the seat opposite him and set his tray down with a resounding  _ clang. _ Keith groaned inwardly, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands.

_ Why is he always so loud? _

Ignoring Keith’s inner turmoil, the boy continued to chatter. “Hey, you weren’t there this morning! Sergeant Marsh had us do drills in the middle of the night. You know, I knew it was coming. I heard her mention that she was going to do some surprise drills for fun last Sunday. Not that I was eavesdropping, of course! I mean, how do you expect me not to hear when you’re talking in an open hallway? I know-”

“Lance, give him a break, you’re talking his ear off.” Another cadet interrupted, squishing himself beside the chatterbox. Keith breathed a sigh of relief when the meal continued in relative silence.

Of course, the tranquillity didn’t last. Near the end of the meal, Lance wrinkled his nose. “Hunk, what is that smell?”

“What sme- Oh! It does smell a little sweaty in here.”

“Ugh. How can anyone eat in this stench!”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “But… you were eating just now?”

“None of your business, mullet!”

Keith huffed, resuming his meal.

Lance was still talking. “You know what? I have just the thing!” He rummaged in his backpack, bring out a box of scented candles. “Ta-da!”

Hunk frowned, “I’m not sure if those will help, buddy.”

“Well, we won’t know unless we try it out! And don’t worry, my sisters sent me a whole load of this stuff. They also sent me-” He dug into his backpack again, displacing a few bottles of Fanta and a box of toffees before holding up a small bottle triumphantly. “This!”

“Perfume?” Hunk asked curiously.

Lance clapped his hands together. “Yes, exactly! Now hang on, I gotta go borrow a lighter…” He dashed off.

Hunk exhaled deeply, folding his hands and leaning back, looking at Keith apologetically. “Sorry, he’s always like that. I know it’s a bit much.”

Keith shrugged nonchalantly, burying his blatant discomfort. “It’s alright, I guess. I’m actually kinda curious on what he’s doing.”

Lance returned gleefully, a lighter in his hands. “And now, we set a fire!” Placing three candles in a neat circle around the perfume bottle, he raised the lighter and lit them. The flames wobbled ominously.

“That looks like some sort of satanic ritual,” Keith scoffed.

Lance stuck his tongue out, glaring. “See, if I pour the perfume in the melted wax, it’ll enhance the smell. Now, watch this!”

“Lance,” Hunk warned, as Keith’s eyes widened in realisation, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Hunk’s right. Don’t do-”

“Don’t tell me what to do, mullet!” Lance waved the lighter menacingly in Keith’s face, making him recoil. Keith watched exasperatedly, as Lance dripped perfume into the candle wax.

For a moment, nothing happened. “Wait a bit, the scent will come out,” Lance muttered, impatiently dripping more perfume into the concoction.

The whole thing exploded with sparks and fizzes.

Lances yelped as hot wax sprayed his direction. “Ow!”

“Told you not to do it,” Keith muttered, backing away from the crackling pots of waxy explosives.

“Whatever,” Lance growled.

**8:00 am**

The cadets marched dutifully onto the field for assembly. Matt stood below the podium in attention, watching the first years line up at the front. He eyed Keith, who was rolling his eyes at the cadet beside him, and resisted the urge to run up and pat him on the head. He looked irritated.  _ Like an angry kitten, _ Matt thought to himself, trying to withhold his growing grin.

Keith must’ve noticed, as he sent a death glare his way. It only made him smile harder.

Keith stood straight, pointedly ignoring Lance’s jabs and Matt’s infuriating grin. He watched as Admiral Sanda took the podium and began to speak.

Lance was still chittering away. “Hey, look at that scratch on Marsh’s face! It wasn’t there this morning. By morning, I meant 4 am. And it looks like a cat scratch, I would know, I have two cats back at home. Hey, are you even listening?”

Keith tensed, then glowered at him. “Shut up. I’m not listening.”

“Rude,” Lance pouted, “So, I was just telling you-”

“First years at the front, what was I saying just now?” Both boys jolted at the sound of the admiral’s voice and met her gaze. She seemed disappointed.

“You, uh…” Lance stuttered, avoiding eye contact. The admiral raised an eyebrow.

Keith’s mind raced.  _ What was she talking about just now? _ He knew it had to be something about moral values, but as for the details, he wasn’t sure. He glanced at Matt, who was aggressively blinking.  _ What was he doing? _

Matt blinked the left eye and blinked the right twice, then stared directly at Keith before blinking the right twice again.

Hang on-

“Discipline,” Keith blurted, “You were stating the importance of discipline, admiral.”

The admiral nodded, still unimpressed. “And?”

A right blink. Two left blinks. Another right blink.

“Punctuality.”

Admiral Sanda stared for a moment. “Very well. McClain, meet me after the last period.”

Keith tried not to smirk at that.  _ Thanks, Matt. _

Matt blinked back, in morse code.  _ You’re welcome. _

**9:00 am**

First period. Biology. Keith tapped his foot restlessly, his attention wandering to the other students. Hunk was taking notes. Griffin was staring at the professor attentively, hanging on to professor’s every word.  _ Ugh, teacher’s pet. _ And Lance was-

Wait, was he drinking Fanta?

He watched bemusedly as Lance snuck out a bottle Fanta Orange and gulped it down.

The professor mumbled something about the alimentary canal. Keith tore his eyes away from the beverage to take notes, then turned his gaze back to the bottle.

He wasn’t the only one staring.

“Hey, Lance! Give me some, will ya?” A red-headed girl behind him whispered.

Lance grinned, then capped the bottle and threw it across the room. The girl caught it and gave him a thumbs up.

The professor was still droning away.

Instead of drinking it, she pulled out a pack of tissues and stuffed them into the drink. All the cadets stared as she shook the bottle belligerently, then pointed at the gloopy glob of orange and mouthed,  _ jelly. _ Several boys snickered, including Lance.

_ What a waste,  _ Keith thought, peering at the professor, who was seemingly oblivious to the antics of his students.

A boy in the first row turned and gestured for the bottled jelly. Keith watched in exasperation and amusement as the whole thing flew across the room and-

_ Splat! _

Oops.

The girl stared, horrified, as the tangy projectile splattered into the back of the professor’s head.

_ “Who threw that?” _

The perpetrators glanced at each other, then simultaneously pointed to Lance.

Keith frowned.  _ Now, that was just unfair. _

**11:00 am**

Matt wandered along the hallways, trying not to burst of joy. He was  _ free.  _ Their biology professor had cancelled their lecture to chew a student out. Matt was glad to slither out of class, because wow, the professor looked  _ furious. _

He wondered what the poor kid had done, though judging by the orange stain on the wall, it definitely had something to do with that.

Now he had all the time in the world (Well not really, but he wanted to revel in that fact.) to catch up on this morning’s rudely interrupted beauty sleep.

_ Meow. _

Matt tilted his head.  _ What was that? _ He quickly scoured the corridor. There was no one in sight. Except… 

Matt swung a closet door open to find Keith and some girl huddled inside.

“Keith, what are you doing?” Matt rubbed his eyes wearily. “Please tell me you weren’t…”

Keith looked panicked. “Nothing!” he squeaked, “We were just… Um…” He shifted his position nervously.

“Uh-huh.” Matt raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to be at lunch? And please tell me what innocent activities my surrogate little brother is doing in the closet.”

_ Meow. _

Keith jolted and exchanged a look with the girl, then finally shifted his gaze back to Matt, accepting defeat. “Obviously, we’re hiding a cat.” He paused, then muttered, “Well, we’re trying to, anyway.”

_ Huh,  _ Matt thought,  _ He shouldn’t have expected otherwise. _

“We’re providing sanctuary to prevent its early demise,” the girl explained, “Sergeant Marsh’s out for her since she was scratched this morning.”

“It’s ethical animal trafficking,” Keith supplied. He gestured to the girl, “This is Ina. I hired her as an animal specialist since I have no idea how to take care of cats.”

The pair stared at Matt. “Don’t tell anyone,” Ina stated solemnly, “We can bribe you if you want.” 

Keith slapped his forehead, “Ina, bribery doesn’t work like that. And anyway, it’s just Matt. He won’t tell.”

“Just Matt?” Matt gasped dramatically. “I’m so offended! How could you!”

Keith rolled his eyes and came out of the closet. Now that the pair had separated, Matt could distinctly see the battered cardboard box tucked behind their backs. Keith nodded to Ina. “Come on, let’s continue this conversation somewhere else.”

Matt followed the duo into a clearing behind the courtyard. It was lush with greenery and secluded from view.  _ Perfect for concealment of semi-legal activities,  _ Matt thought. He also wondered why he had never noticed this place before. Yikes, maybe he was getting old.

“So,” Keith started, “you know Melissa, right?”

Matt scoffed, “Duh.” Then a thought struck him, and he sighed, “Please tell me she didn’t bribe you into doing her dirty work.”

Keith gave him a look. “Of course not. She hired me and gave me honourary membership to her secret cat cult.”

_ Say what now? _

Keith smirked at Matt’s blatant confusion. “Yeah, that’s a thing. Melissa’s incredibly fond of cats. I think she genuinely believes that they can communicate.

“Anyway, she’s going to pass this kitty to her sister who’s sneaking over later. But she needs someone to take care of him while she’s in classes. Hence,” He gestured to himself and Ina. “I agreed to take care of him until the senior lunch break, and Ina’s getting 40% of my cut for her assistance.”

“Huh,” Matt blinked.

Keith beamed. “My skills are put on the seniors’ hiring list for side jobs. Turns out, being your apprentice is a huge endorsement.”

Pride surged through Matt as he enveloped Keith into a hug. “Guess I’ll leave you to it. And if you do anything stupid, don’t get caught.”

Keith snickered. “No promises, but I’ll do my best, Sifu.”

**12:00 pm**

Matt smacked his tray down on the table. “Mel, I’m so wounded!” he gasped theatrically, “You never told me you started a cult!”

“So what?” Mel lifted an eyebrow, sending a sceptical look at Matt’s dramatic wailing.

“So, you have to tell me about it!” Matt leaned across the table, putting his face in Mel’s. “Do you do rituals? Can you actually communicate with cats? Who else is in the cult?”

Mel ran a hand through her dark hair. “Ugh, this is why I never told you. Go announce it to the world, will ya?”

“Sure! HEY EVERYONE-” 

Mel slapped a hand over his mouth. “I was being rhetorical!” she hissed. “Shut up, unless you want me to bust the comm system in our sim demonstration for the first-years later. In that case, go on.”

“Wow, okay. You’re serious.”

“Of course, I am.”

They ate in silence, glowering at each other the whole time.

“Melissa?”

Matt glanced up to notice the pair of cadets hovering behind Mel’s back. The cult leader in question merely grunted, “What?”

Keith glared, holding out his hand. “We did the job.”

Ina nodded beside him. “Payment.”

Mel swivelled around to stare at them. “The job wasn’t necessary. I ended up having the period off.”

Keith met her gaze unblinkingly. “Even so, we did the job. And,” he smirked evilly, “your kitty is still with us. Now, you wouldn’t want him loose in Marsh’s office, eh?”

Mel’s eyes widened. Then she relented, moaning, “Matt, your child is a menace.” and reached into her pocket to pull out a packet of M&Ms and toss it to Keith. 

Keith raised an eyebrow, holding the snack up. “You sure that’s it?”

Grumbling, Mel reached into her bag and produced four more. Keith handed two packets to Ina, the pair high-fiving in victory.

Matt shed a tear. “Ah, he’s all grown up.”

**01:00 pm**

Matt lounged in his dorm, half asleep. The atmosphere was perfect for a nap, and he let loose a contented sigh.  _ It was so quiet, peaceful- _

A tentative knock broke him out of his thoughts.

Keith’s head poked through the door. “Matt, you there? Shiro needs help.” 

Matt opened one eye lazily. “Did he get his hand stuck in a drawer?” Keith nodded, eyes glinting with amusement.

“Which one is it this time?” Matt sighed.

Keith led him to Adam’s office. There, Shiro stood, embarrassed, his right hand jammed in a rusty drawer.

Adam was sniggering beside him, his gaze darting between Shiro and Keith shiftily.

Matt eyed the jammed drawer and frowned. “That’s not hard to solve.”

“He wouldn’t help me,” Shiro grumbled, gesturing at Adam, “and Keith’s too tiny to lift it.” Keith huffed but stayed silent.

Matt closed his eyes, pinching his nose. “Lemme get to work, then.”

Within a few minutes, Shiro’s hand was free to move, and he yanked it out triumphantly. All of a sudden, Adam knocked past Matt, lunging at Shiro. They wrestled and fought to the ground.

“What-” Matt glanced at Keith for answers as the latter towed him out of the room.

They stopped in the hallway. Keith’s mouth twisted up into a smirk as he explained, “Let them fight. When Shiro wins, we can bribe him for the blackmail he got of Adam.” He gestured to the chip, firmly enclosed in Shiro’s hand despite Adam’s frantic assault.

Matt returned the grin. “Good idea.”

**01:30 pm**

Physics.

Matt sat in the second row, staring drowsily at the back of the professor’s head. Professor Couper tended to repeat his words a lot. Matt didn’t mind, but still, he prayed under his breath that things would accelerate a bit. He felt lethargic, and his usual wakeup trick of writing his notes backwards did nothing to help him stay alert.

His eyelids were drooping, the professor’s voice faded hazily away… 

_ Meow. _

Matt jerked in his seat, startling awake. Swivelling around, he glanced incredulously at Mel, who was clutching at her backpack, expression panicked.

With a single leap, the cat tore out of the bag and landed on the table.

_ Meow. _

Squeals and coos punctuated the classroom as the feline slunk around, purring lazily at the cadets’ attempts of restraint. Professor Couper paused his lecture, narrowing his eyes as he turned around. “Why are you all making noise?”

Matt could pinpoint the exact moment Couper spotted the cat, as his eyes widened comically and his mouth dropped.

“W-where did that beast come from?” Professor Couper backed away, startled eyes tracking the kitty, who was stalking to the podium where he stood.

_ Aha,  _ he thought,  _ Couper is scared of cats. _

“Get it out of my classroom!”

Matt raised his hand. “I can take it out, sir.”

“Okay, go. Go now!”

He muffled his laughter as he gathered the cat in his arms and hastened out.

_ Ah, fresh air. _

Matt hurried down the hallway, the cat squirming and pawing frantically. He darted into an empty classroom, bolting the door shut as the cat finally freed himself from his grasp and started licking its paw. It then eyed an orange stain on the floor and proceeded to lick it clean. Matt watched it move, amused.

The bell rang.  _ Well, guess he wasn’t returning to class, then. _ Matt thought cheerily. He leaned on the door, watching the passersby.

Soon enough, Mel darted around the corner, her features full of anxiety and annoyance. She spotted him through the window and scowled. He grinned, creaking open the door to let her in.

“Why did you do that?” she demanded.

“I needed some fresh air,” he replied, stretching his arms out to prove his point, “and the opportunity presented itself.”

Mel huffed, rolling her eyes. “Well, I guess I should thank you. I wasn’t sure what Couper would do.”

“Nah, he wouldn’t have done anything, he looked terrified. And I don’t think he knew that it was you who-”

“Please don’t say it.” Mel cut him off, raising her gaze to the ceiling.

Matt smiled triumphantly. “Who let the cat out of the bag!”

“Ugh,” she groaned.

“I guess the cat is out of the bag.”

“Shush. Couper set homework, by the way.”

“Ugh. Okay. Shutting up now. Still, it’s the perfect pun for-”

“Shut. Up.”

**02:30 pm**

Mel still looked pissy when she entered the simulator for the demonstration. Anna, their engineer, frowned confusedly, as Mel plopped herself into the pilot’s seat stiffly without a word. She turned to Matt, tilting her head in silent question.

He shrugged as nonchalantly as possible, though his shoulders were still shaking from silent laughter. Anna shook her head, used to their antics.

Iverson’s voice rang through the comms as Matt peeked out of the back of the simulator. Keith was there, giving him a sneaky thumbs up. He smiled back as the rear door beeped and sealed shut.

They took off into the synthetic skies.

**04:30 pm**

Keith hurried down the stairs, almost slamming into Lance. “Woah!”

Lance barely glared at him, grumbling a response. He looked unusually downcast.

_ Ah, right. He was just talked to by Admiral Sanda.  _ Keith’s gaze softened. “That bad, huh?”

Lance sighed. “Yeah,” he mumbled, “Though, it was my fault. I know I should’ve been listening. But two lectures in a day! Must be a new record.”

Keith shifted his feet in the awkward silence, unsure of how to reply. A thought struck him, and he rummaged through his pockets. “Here, have some M&Ms.” Hesitantly, he held out a packet. Lance stared at him critically. Keith shrunk a little. “Um… To make you feel better. You know, what happened in biology wasn’t your fault.”

Lance gave him a watery smile. “Thanks, I guess.” Then he continued up the winding stairway. Keith watched him run off, then shook his head and went on his way.

Human interactions weren’t his forte.

Ina and Keith stood to the side, watching the teary farewell between cat and human. Tear tracks ran down Melissa’s cheeks as she stroked the wriggling cat in her arms while exchanging words with her sister.

“Make sure you don’t starve him. And, oh! Don’t let him in the third bedroom. It’s too dangerous there. Give him a few days before introducing him to Fluffy. And Snowy. And Glitters. And-”

“How many cats does she even have?” Keith whispered in awe. Ina shrugged.

“Don’t dye his fur pink. Don’t eat his hair. If he scratches you, keep the blood in a vial.”

Keith was getting concerned.

**05:00 pm**

“So how were classes?” Shiro questioned, slumping beside Keith.

Keith looked up from his homework. “They were fine. Why do you ask me every day?”

Shiro chuckled, “Just humour me, buddy.” He ruffled Keith’s hair. “No one caused you any trouble, right?”

Keith smiled a little. “No, Shiro.”

They sat in tranquil silence.

After a while, Keith put down his pen and sat up, yawning. “I’m done. Speaking of which, did you get the blackmail?”

Shiro’s face brightened as he held up a chip.

Keith reached for it. Shiro pulled away. “Nuh-uh. This one’s mine.”

Sighing, Keith changed tactics. Clearly, brute force wasn’t going to work.

“Give me a copy, and I won’t show him the video we took at the dance last semester.”

“... Fine.”

Keith snickered at the forlorn expression on Shiro’s face. He nudged him in the shoulder. “Hey, don’t look so sad. Have a cookie.”

Shiro laughed heartily, pulling Keith into a hug. “Thanks.”

**07:00 pm**

Dinner was a lively affair. The Holts and Keith were seated at Adam and Shiro’s dining table, the latter two serving homemade pasta to their guests. (Cooked by Adam, of course.)

Sam spoke up conversationally. “I heard that there was a cat loose on campus.” 

“Really?” Adam asked curiously, “Is that where Marsh got the scratch from?”

“Probably. I never saw the cat myself, either.”

Keith and Matt eyed each other, debating on whether to share or not. Shiro turned to them suspiciously. “You two have been oddly quiet. Got anything to say?”

“... Nope.”

“Not really,” Keith answered vaguely, pushing away his empty plate and taking out a packet of M&Ms to munch on slowly. The adults gave them a long stare but relented. 

“I also heard that Marsh had some fun with drills last night.”

Matt slammed his head into the table and groaned.

**10:00 pm**

Keith stood by his dorm room, frowning. Someone had broken in. He knew that because the strip of masking tape he attached to the door gap as an indicator was ripped in half. Fearing the worst, he pushed and entered, darting his eyes around the empty room. His eyes fell onto the tiny desk at the corner.

Sitting there, innocently, was a bottle of Fanta and a couple of toffees.

Keith smiled and took a drink.

The tangy flavour was somewhat heartwarming.

**10:30 pm**

Matt gave a heavy sigh and slumped onto his bed. For the past two hours, he had been sitting rod straight with his hand glued to his pen, speeding through his physics questions one by one.

His communicator dinged. Matt glanced at the ID warily.  _ Katie. _

He brightened, sitting up, and accepted the call. “Hey, Pidge! Guess what happened today…”

**11:00 pm**

Placing his communicator on his desk, Matt snuggled into bed, his sister’s faint laughter still ringing in his ears.

He drifted off into the bliss of oblivion.

**Author's Note:**

> How would you feel if I tell you that the stuff they did is heavily based on my experiences?  
> Midnight drills? Yep, that happened. The shoelace thing was me, unfortunately.  
> Candle explosion? That happened as well.  
> Fanta? 7th grade.  
> Mel, and all the stuff she did, are based on one of my former classmates.
> 
> Come chat with me in the comments! How was your day? You are free to rant. Here, I give you a virtual hug.
> 
> P.S. Btw, the school video competition I mentioned a few weeks ago (In one of my other stories)? I can't believe we actually won. Here, if you wanna watch me and my friends rant about the 'sufferings' of lockdown, find the dumbassery in the link here: https://youtu.be/KA0SGVV8DPY (I still can't hyperlink on AO3 please teach me)  
> P.P.S. I'm not that good of a singer, but hopefully, the scriptwriting makes up for it.  
> P.P.P.S. And mind the mixed lingo. You're welcome to ask about them, I'm willing to do cultural exchanges hahahahah.


End file.
